The invention generally relates to a system for remote servicing of circuit breakers. Preferably, it relates to one for the transmission of up-to-date information about the state of a switch which is installed at a remote location to any desired service center which can be accessed via a telecommunications network or by radio, using a diagnosis handset which can be connected to the circuit breaker when required.
Systems already exist for remote control of circuit breakers, and in principle these also allow remote diagnosis. A system such as this is described in WO 98/123455 A1. In an expanded system according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,473, the circuit breakers in a switchgear assembly are connected all the time to a control center, from which the switching commands are transmitted. If a diagnosis handset is connected to a circuit breaker in order to carry out test routines, then the connection to the control center is broken. The test can thus be carried out only on site, and the control center is excluded from this. There is also only one connection to a specific control center, and it is impossible to transmit the data relating to the circuit breaker or the test set to any other point.
An object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a system for remote servicing of circuit breakers. Preferably, the system able to transmit up-to-date information about the state of a circuit breaker which is installed at a remote location to any desired point, for example to a point which can be accessed via a telephone network or via radio, with little effort by personnel.
An object may be achieved according to an embodiment of the invention in that the diagnosis handset, which is equipped with a plug-in unit for connection to the circuit breaker on one side, can be equipped on the other side with a communications interface. This allows data to be interchanged with the service center via the telecommunications network. Further, the circuit breaker may include a plug socket to which the diagnosis handset can be connected via its plug-in unit.
Thus, remote diagnosis can be carried out when required, and data can be transmitted between the circuit breaker and the service center only for this purpose.
A diagnosis handset can thus be provided which is connected to the circuit breaker via the plug connection provided for this purpose, and on the other hand can be connected, by way of example, to a telephone network via a telephone plug-in device (telecommunications access unit=TAE), which is likewise arranged on the diagnosis handset for this purpose, that is to say, by way of example, via a TAE socket.
The interface to the telecommunications network may, of course, also be a Western modular plug-in device, a plug-in unit as is used for the networking of computers in buildings, etc.
Expediently, either a device which sets up a data connection to the calling service center, in response to a telephone call, or a dialing device which sets up a data connection to a service center either on command by the user or automatically, may be integrated in the handset.
This makes it possible for a customer to carry out a test at any time by setting up a connection to the circuit breaker in the intended manner.
Since appropriate programming is possible, this can be achieved by operating only one button, and the service center receives a message, for example xe2x80x9cswitch 40772 has signal, please check everythingxe2x80x9d on the monitoring screen.
Another possible scenario is one in which, because the service center has the task of checking the switch periodically, it requests that the test set be connected, and then carries out the check remotely. In this way, the competence of the manufacturer of the circuit breaker can be made use of in a short time, virtually anywhere in the world.